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Happy 4th, lovelies! On this day when we celebrate our nation's birthday, as well as our personal freedom, I wanted to remind you of a little thing that goes such a long way in the happiness department...

A while back I wrote about the so-called "happiness trio"--the three core things that experts, like Huffington Post blogger Joe Robinson, say increase happiness, and there's one that I think a lot of us forget, or at least, set aside. I was chatting with a friend over the weekend who is in a living situation that is really dragging her down. Her roommate is making ridiculous "house rules" that are cramping her style and she's feeling burdened by it all. It made me think of one of the key principles of happiness, one that we can all remember on today, Independence Day:

Autonomy: Having independence, control over your home or work environment--the feeling that you are freely choosing things in your life and not being controlled by anyone or anything.

Do you need more autonomy in your life? Do you need to quit a job that is dragging you down and find a career that is more fulfilling? Do you need to move out of an unhappy living situation or move on from an unhealthy relationship so you can start calling the shots in your life?